The present invention relates to a system and method for managing gaming tables in a gaming facility; and, more particularly, to a system and method which are capable of automatically monitoring dealers working at tables in the gaming facility allowing the performance of each of the dealers to be determined and a revenue of the gaming facility to be estimated.
Typically, gaming facilities such as a casino club are using a plurality of gaming tables. In such a gaming table, a dealer is in charge of dealing cards to players positioned at the table and collecting chips therefrom.
Revenue of the club is estimated by the collected chips from the gaming tables. Thus, if the dealer in a table is less efficient in dealing cards or collecting chips than others, the table may yield less revenue. Moreover, there are always cases in which some of the dealers may cheat chips form the table, causing a dent in the total revenue.
One of conventional gaming table managing systems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,912 issued on Mar. 25, 1997 to Timothy J. Slater, et al., entitled xe2x80x9cBET TRACKING SYSTEM FOR GAMING TABLESxe2x80x9d, which automatically tracks betting activities of casino patrons at gaming tables and provides an indication of these betting activities to casino personnel in real time.
In the conventional bet tracking system, the casino patrons use magnetic cards to check themselves in and out of the bet tracking system through magnetic card readers that are located at each betting position of a gaming table. The magnetic card readers read identity and location codes of each patron and transmit it to a computer system via wireless communications network. By using the codes, the computer system retrieves information associated with the patrons, estimates an average bet for the patron based on the current minimum table bet for the gaming table and the time period of the patron""s play, and calculate periodically an average theoretical win based on the patron""s play. This information is made available through the casino computer system to the casino personnel at the patron""s gaming table and at any other gaming table to which the patrons moves. The information available to the casino personnel is updated periodically to reflect the patron""s accumulated betting activity.
Even if the conventional system is capable of managing the patrons by tracking the betting activities of the patrons, it is impossible to monitor the performance of dealers and also accurately check the revenue for each table.
Likewise, there are U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,482 issued to Strisower John M, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,936 issued to Bennett Michael J, et al., as methods for tracking players located at each gaming table, which employ a wireless communications network between each table and a host computer. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,482 teaches a system including a casino database which stores betting summary records for each of the players and the player""s betting rating. In this patent, one or more gaming tables include a plurality of player""s positions and a plurality of code readers. The code readers initiates a betting session in response to reading a player identification card encoded with a player identification code. This patent also collects real time data of the player""s betting transactions, including the player""s identification code and an average bet by the player during the betting session; updates the betting summary record with the collected real time data for the player; and provides the updated betting summary record to the casino database via the communications network. Although this patent may manage the betting records for each players and the player""s betting rating information, it suffers from a shortcoming that it is difficult to determine the performance of dealers and also accurately check the revenue for each table.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,482 discloses an automated gaming table tracking system which includes a sensor located at a dealer""s side for sensing the start and end of each game; an unique player identity card containing identity information of the player assigned to the player identity card; a plurality of player station controls, one of which is located at each of a plurality of player positions; and a central distribution control connected to each player station control for determining the start and the end of each game and beginning and termination of play by each player at each position. Although this patent may check the start and the end of the game and manage information of the player""s betting transactions, it suffers from a drawback that it is difficult to determine the performance of each dealer.
As described earlier, all of the chips collected from all of the gaming tables located in the gaming club may determine the revenue of the gaming club. Various chip-sensing techniques have been introduced to support this.
For example, there is U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,941 issued to Bacchi Lorenzo, entitled xe2x80x9cSYSTEM FOR MONITORING THE MOVEMENT OF MONEY AND CHIPS ON A GAMING TABLExe2x80x9d, which includes a tray for receiving gaming chips and sensors for sensing the chips held by the tray. In this patent, a cash box is provided for the deposit of cash received in return for chips dispensed from the tray; a keyboard is provided to record each deposit of cash into the cash box; and a central processing unit is responsive to a timer. The keyboard and the sensors record each transaction which takes places on the gaming table into data storage means. A warning light lights up in the event that money, which has been deposited in the cash box, is not entered into the keyboard. However, although this patent may monitor each transaction on the gaming table and somewhat determine the competence of individual dealer, it has a disadvantage that there is a need to provide a plurality of second sensors and the keyboard for each table, which in turn, drives up the cost of the system. Further, since chips inserted into a chip slot provided on the gaming table determine the revenue, it is difficult to accurately estimate the revenue.
There is U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,742 issued to French John, entitled xe2x80x9cGAMING TABLE TRACKING SYSTEM AND METHODxe2x80x9d, which employs a gaming chip having a transponder embedded therein to report the total value of the chips at any location. However, although, in the invention disclosed in this patent, an inventory of all of the chips may be checked and the revenue of a casino may be estimated, the transponder having a battery must be built into each chip, which renders the structure of the chip highly complicated and increasing the cost thereof.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a system for automatically monitoring each dealer located at each gaming table in a gaming facility, allowing simultaneously the performance of each of the dealers and a revenue of the gaming facility to be determined.
It is another object of the invention to provide a system capable of providing various services to individual player located at a gaming table in a gaming facility, through the use of a plurality of call buttons installed on the gaming tables.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a method for automatically monitoring each dealer located at each gaming table in a gaming facility, allowing the performance of each dealer and a revenue of the gaming facility to be simultaneously determined.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for automatically monitoring and tracking dealers located at gaming tables in a gaming facility using a wireless communications network, the system comprising:
a portable data-carrying device;
a table module provided near the dealer on the gaming table, the table module including a plurality of call buttons, a chip sensing mechanism, a reading unit and a signal processing means, for generating service call data, dealer-associated data and chip-associated data, wherein each chip has an unique color representing a denomination thereof;
means connected to the table module via the network, for receiving two types of the data generated from the table module, storing them in a first and second databases, determining the performance of the dealer and estimating a revenue of the gaming facility, based on the stored data; and
means connected to the table module via the network, for receiving the remaining type of the data generated from the table module, and displaying same on a screen.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method, for use in a gaming table managing system, for automatically monitoring and tracking dealers located at a plurality of gaming tables in a gaming facility, wherein the system includes a portable data carrying device, a table module, a managing means and a call processing unit which are connected with one another in a wireless network communication, the table module including a plurality of call buttons, a chip sensing mechanism, a reading unit and a signal processing means, which comprising the following steps:
(a) detecting a plurality of dealer-associated data, chip-associated data and service call data, using the portable data carrying device and the table module, storing two types of the detected data in a memory, and outputting the remaining type of the data together with the two types of the data, wherein each chip has an unique color representing a denomination of the chip thereof;
(b) receiving the two types of the data, storing each of the two types of the data in a first and second databases, respectively, determining the performance of the dealer and estimating a revenue of the gaming facility, using each data stored in the first and second databases; and
(c) receiving the remaining type of the data generated from the table module, and displaying the same on a screen.